A BRIDE and groom who are planning to tie the knot on the romantic isle of Arran have been among travellers to six weddings and a birthday celebration caught up in the nationwide CalMac ferry strike.

Fraser Gough and Clare Nicolas were dismayed to learn their scheduled trip had fallen victim to the dispute which is over Scottish Government plans to tender the contract for ferries to a private firm.

The action by RMT union members left only around one third of the company's routes in operation.

However, Mr Gough's enterprising mother contacted a friend who had a vessel who agreed to ferry the wedding party across the Firth of Clyde from Ardrossan.

The newlyweds had arranged a meal for 50 close friends and family on Friday night, ahead of Saturday's nuptials.

Party member, Gordon Halliday, said: "It's affected mainly the core family members that were going to the dinner, and that includes the best man."

He added that around 20 to 30 members of the party had been due to travel on the alternative boat or by speedboat."

A CalMac spokesman said: "Putting weddings at risk is just one of the very human consequences this strike is having.

"We have had a full time wedding planner at the contact centre on the case."

The 24-hour strike decimated services across the country.

"Everyone who wanted to go to a wedding this weekend is going to a wedding this weekend. We have been chopping and changing

bookings, with people travelling the day before and getting back the day after." He added that taxis had also been laid on for people with mobility problems.

Only nine of the 27 sailings were running as normal, as the action continued to affect passengers just after midnight today.

Staff are seeking assurances from ferry operators - that include

no redundancies - after the government put the contract for services out to tender after CalMac's contract ended. The decision could lead to it being taken over by a private firm.

Gordon Martin, the Regional Organiser for the RMT in Scotland said: "I've been at picket lines in Gourock and Ardrossan, the boats are tied up and they're going nowhere."

The company has claimed it is unable to do anything about the situation.

Mr Martin said: "Caledonian MacBrayne are heavily suggesting that their hands are tied, and if their hands are tied I can only imagine that it is the Scottish Government that are tying them."

Routes which rely on larger vessels, including the Outer Hebrides, Mull, Colonsay, Coll, Tiree and Islay were hit the worst while many routes, served by smaller vessels where workers belong to a different union, were still operating.

CalMac said staff had worked hard to help those who had encountered problems due to the strike.

RMT manned the picket lines in Oban, the gateway to the isles, leaving travellers who had been planning to travel on the isle of Mull ferry to Craignure no option, but to use a private boat operator Coastal Connection for help.

Brothers Cameron and Struan Smith, who run wildlife trips and charters, put on a special service between Oban and Mull to mirror the normal ferry timetable.

Their first trip of the day, at 7.40am, was almost completely full.

Cameron Smith said: "We had a couple of workers and one couple, who were on holiday from Australia, who had one day in Oban and were going on a wildlife trip on Mull."

On board later were Susan Brolly, who was enjoying a 55th birthday trip paid for by her husband Michael.

Mr Brolly, 55, of Glasgow, said: "We are staying in Tobermory until Monday and if we hadn't got there today it would have interfered with out plans to go to Iona."

He added: "We didn't want to lose out on a night in Tobermory after all the effort I put in to planning this."

Mr Brolly said he had sympathy with the strikers, but added the strike could impact on tourism.